The Hobbit

Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

Neverwhere

Richard Mayhew is an unassuming young businessman living in London, with a dull job and a pretty but shrewish fiancée. Then one night he stumbles upon a girl lying on the sidewalk, bleeding. He stops to help her, and his life is changed forever. Soon he finds himself living in a London most people would never have dreamed of: a city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels. It is a world that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations.

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.... Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle.

Timebound

When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence. Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and her genetic ability to time travel makes Kate the only one who can fix the future.

Without Remorse

His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient, but who is he? In a harrowing tour de force, phenomenally best-selling author Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend known as Mr. Clark. It is an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness, without mercy - without remorse.

14

There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.

Howl's Moving Castle

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle is by acclaimed fantasy writer Diane Wynne Jones amd was transformed into an Academy Award nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone.

The Jungle Book I & II

Tales of Mowgli, the boy raised by animals in the exotic jungles of India; Rikkitikkitavi, a courageous young mongoose who battles the sinister black cobra Nag; Toomai, the boy who works with elephants; and more will delight listeners both young and old. These classic stories brim with adventure and thrills as the lively characters fend off ferocious tigers and deadly snakes, slip through the jungle to watch elephants dance, and seek refuge from dangerous hunters.

Clockwork Angel: The Infernal Devices, Book 1

When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Paper Towns

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

One Second After

Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon - the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) - which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States.

The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity. It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

I Am Legend

In I Am Legend, a plague has decimated the world, and those unfortunate enough to survive are transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Robert Neville is the last living man on earth. Everyone else has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. By day, he stalks the sleeping undead, by night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

Dragonvein, Book One

Carentan, France, 1944 - Ethan Martin, a soldier in the 101st Airborne, is fighting for his life. But soon he will learn what peril truly is when he is ripped from his world and transported to a land of magic, swords, and dragons. And though the Nazis are now far, far away, danger is closer than ever.

Amazon Customer says:"Interesting Story but very light on in details."

Debt of Bones

A milestone of storytelling set in the world of The Sword of Truth, Debt of Bones is the story of young Abby's struggle to win the aid of the wizard Zedd Zorander, the most important man alive. Abby is trapped, not only between both sides of the war, but in a mortal conflict between two powerful men. For Zedd, who commands power most men can only imagine, granting Abby's request would mean forsaking his sacred duty. With the storm of the final battle about to save the life of a child....

2001: A Space Odyssey

It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

Dragonflight: Dragonriders of Pern

On the beautiful planet Pern, colonized for centuries, Land Holders and Craftsmen have traditionally tithed food and supplies to the dragonweyrs to which they are bound. In times past, the mighty telepathic dragons and their riders were the only protection from the dreaded, life-threatening Thread. Now those times may be returning....

The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom's most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin's Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam. When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes - and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship.

Warbreaker

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn't like his job, and the immortal who's still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can be collected only one unit at a time.

Steelheart: The Reckoners, Book 1

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father.

Roots: The Saga of an American Family

Why we think it’s a great listen: A masterpiece like none other, Brooks’ powerful performance of Haley’s words has been known to leave listeners in tears. It begins with a birth in an African village in 1750, and ends two centuries later at a funeral in Arkansas. And in that time span, an unforgettable cast of men, women, and children come to life, many of them based on the people from Alex Haley's own family tree.

Audible Editor Reviews

It is a very rare thing to witness the beginning of a writer’s career and know without a doubt that the first little book is going to launch a worldwide craze, a la J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer. Such is the terrifying yet enviable position of Veronica Roth, who sold this debut novel to a HarperCollins imprint before she even finished college. She also sold the film rights to Summit Entertainment, owner of the Twilight film saga, on the strength of pre-publication buzz alone. The first in a planned series, Divergent is beyond question the best thing to happen to young adult literature in a very long time. More realistic than Harry Potter and less moony-eyed than Twilight, Roth has crafted a world and a protagonist that are easily engrossing and definitely worthy of our long-term attention.

Part of the credit for such charm belongs to narrator Emma Galvin, herself somewhat a newcomer. The young upstart has already garnered praise for her interpretations of Winter’s Bone, the first book spin-off from the Glee television series, and Stephenie Meyer’s recent novella. Galvin is genuinely edgy and emotive, not a trace of sugar to be found in the dialogue or her rendering of it. She captures the bold but conflicted spirit of the main character, Tris, with convincing personality and a real sensibility for the fast-pacing learning curve into which Tris launches the year she turns 16. After being raised in a clan whose primary characteristic is its devotion to selflessness, Tris defects, choosing a life of bravery from among the five factions that comprise her dystopic Chicago. She must pledge the faction, and go through several rounds of training eliminations before becoming a true Dauntless.

Tris is a complex, down-to-earth character with a lot of soul searching to do  in a clan where hobbies include jumping from moving trains and tossing knives at small objects resting on the heads of friends, and there are no second chances. Veronica Roth has built a remarkable situation with strong potential for a longevity that will remain fresher than the sum of its parts, and Emma Galvin has this bull of a new series firmly by the horns. This book is confidently going places far beyond the fanatical mindlessness of young adult marketing, and in a hot minute, grownups will not have to feel one iota of shame for having fallen in love with it alongside their less discerning teenagers. Megan Volpert

Publisher's Summary

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are - and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves.... or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series - dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

What the Critics Say

"Though Galvin’s narration is concentrated on giving Tris the perfect voice, she never neglects the secondary characters. Poignant moments with Tris’s mother and Four, her leader and love, are subtly nuanced to let listeners hear the terror Tris often hides.... listeners will hold their breath waiting to see if she can survive the day." (AudioFile)

Closet 50-year old-white-male fan here. The only reason I did not give it five stars is because there's a little too much teenage lip-meeting, hand-holding and waist-caressing going on for my taste. But the overall premise and storytelling is great. I devoured the second book right after I cruised through this one. Want. Third. Book. Now.

I almost didn't get this book due to all the reviews that compared it to the Hunger Games. Thankfully I didn't think it was anything like HG. Yes it's a YA book about a Dystopian society with a female lead, but to me that's where the similarities end. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Hunger Games too but I didn't want to listen to another cheap rip-off. I thought the story was interesting, fast paced, unique, well written and thought provoking. I was also happy to learn it didn't involve another love triangle. (thank you Veronica Roth)I'm looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd book in this series.

I'm not sure what it says about me as a 32-year-old, but I have really enjoyed quite a few young adult books in the last few years. This is another one that's worth the read no matter what age you are. I always love to see a strong female lead and this book fits the bill. I've read a lot of dystopian books, but this one still manages to be unique.

The book reminds me of the Hunger Games series in many ways, but the book is different enough that it's not derivative. If you read the Hunger Games and liked it, just go ahead and get this one, you'll almost certainly like it, too. I can't wait for future installments of the series to come out.

I'm a middle school teacher, and I chose this book because I had seen some of my students reading it. Soon I was gripped by all that Tris and her friends were going through, guessing some plot turns, surprised by others, but so involved that I had scarcely finished Divergent before I had to purchase the sequel (Insurgent). Like Hunger Games, it has a female protagonist who must prove herself as a fighter, who is wracked with strong emotions, who must cope with the changes that come because of love, and who is in the middle of a world ripe for revolution.

I found Tris to be likeable, complex, and believable, and the situation her society is in more interesting than the one in Katniss' world because the evil is more insidious. It is easy to see why the enemy leader believes in a particular cause and why the various forces choose as they do.

Sometimes, I grew a little weary of the problems that could have been easily solved if people had not kept secrets from one another, but the world Tris grew up in has trained her to accept the idea of dangerous secrets. I also found the way the different elements of society were leveraging power to be a compelling plot element.

What other book might you compare Divergent to and why?

I think anyone who liked Hunger Games should be all over this series as their next fix. However, I actually l liked this better than Hunger Games in many ways. There are more interesting characters, and the various elements of society are less black and white in their motivations and alliances. The puzzles Tris must solve is complex and so are her strategies for solving them.

Although there is violence and some of it is very cruel, I found it less disturbing than some of the Hunger Games violence, which was often sadistic and bizarre.

What about Emma Galvin’s performance did you like?

I found her completely believable and engaging. Tris being a relatively small girl, she needed a voice with some child-like elements, but Galvin was also believable as Tris developed into a leader.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not want to stop listening! The minute it was over, I bought the sequel.

My to-read pile is astronomically high. In fact, it takes up a whole bookshelf at home. Funny thing about accepting books for review, oftentimes your own books tend to get less priority. Now that I've taken to listen to audiobooks in my driving and walking time, however, I find that I'm actually able to get to some of the books I've heard so much about and experience them for myself. DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth was such a book.

DIVERGENT popped to the top of my list after a friend finished reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer and was looking for another post-apocalyptic type dystopian. Everything we could find suggested trying DIVERGENT next. I thought the cover looked pretty (you know me) so I suggested it to my friend. A few days later she had finished DIVERGENT and the second in the trilogy Insurgent and just wouldn't stop raving about it. I sighed and traded an Audible credit in for the book mainly to get my friend off my case.

Holy buckets! DIVERGENT is an excellent read/listen!

Beatrice Prior has just turned 16 and as such will get to take part in the Choosing Day - the day that she chooses a faction to spend the rest of her life in. There are five factions (learning about them is half the fun of the first part of the book), each with their own guiding principles. Beatrice starts as Abnegation - a selfless faction who believe in viewing and doing for others before themselves. But, is Beatrice really Abnegation? Can she spend the rest of her life living selflessly, never thinking about herself, and always putting the needs of others first?

DIVERGENT follows Beatrice as she struggles to make a decision, makes that decision, and then struggles through the consequences that her decision entails. While this is all happening, Beatrice learns that her perfect society may not be as perfect as it claims. Something dangerous is approaching and it seems to be tied to the Divergent.

I'll have to admit, I came into DIVERGENT expecting a light read with some neat dystopian elements. I was surprised by how real Roth made the story. Beatrice's emotions are the real emotions I would expect from a girl in her situation, with her actions staying fairly true to the actions I would expect her to take. Just because this is a young adult novel doesn't mean that Roth spares us the pain and difficulties that come from living in parts of this society. She doesn't glaze over the terrors that some of the characters have to live through, instead putting them out in the open and letting us experience the world right along side Beatrice. This is probably the one thing I loved most about DIVERGENT.

With some great action sequences, a fantastic storyline, and really good drama and tension, DIVERGENT is an excellent read for anyone looking to escape for a while. This won't be a walk in the park, but I can pretty much guarantee that once you've finished it, you'll be clamoring for the next book in the series.

This was an awesome book. I stayed up way too late listening to this book and plowed through quickly. There never seemed to be down time or slow moving part of the book.

Many people compare it to The Hunger Games and I can understand why: Strong female lead, dystopian setting, a single forced choice that changes the life of main character, combat and quarrel. If you enjoyed the first book of The Hunger Games it is worth picking this book up.

I have nothing but praise for the narrator, she did an excellent job and was a good choice for this novel.

So I often try not to review trilogies until the whole thing comes out and has been read and digested, because I think, "What could be worse than recommending a first book to someone only to have the successive two books suck the life and happiness from the little thrill left by a great first book?" Then I finished this trilogy and had an answer: worse? 2 fantastic books finished with one that makes little sense and ends wholly unsatisfactorily.

I will try not to give spoilers here, so please bear with any vagueries. I try to understand that not everyone will agree with me and refuse to read the series. So...

There are serious plot wholes in the last book. The ending makes no sense. If you think about it too hard- by which I mean almost at all beyond letting action scenes enter your brain and then leave again unrelated to anything- your brain might explode. At the very least, you will be frustrated.

Also, I don't care who you are (and I won't say who), but nobody's death should getmore than a chapter. It's maudlin. It's depressing. It's old.Even Dobby didn't get more than a chapter, and that was one of the best written death scenes in YA fantasy. It didn't need it, because more than a chapter is maudlin and depressing and all the rest.

The absolute worst part of all of this is that the first two books were excellent and interesting and beautifully done. They are not complete in themselves though, and so can't really be read without the final book. It's like Ms. Roth had this fantastic idea, butdidn't bother to develop the world prior to writing the books, so she just ended up making it up as she went along. I know, it's fiction, and, by definition, made up as she goes along, but she didn't seem to think out the end at the beginning, so the world lacks consistancy, and overwrought scenes of heart-break and radical personality change resulting from said overwrought heartbreak are there to distract us from the knowledge that the Wizard of Oz is just a sad guy behind a curtain. O.K., I'm not sure that analogy works entirely, but I can't think of anything more frustrating than going down this whole road in pursuit of some grand goal only to discover smoke and mirrors and little of substance (O.K., maybe it works as an analogy ). There is no Wizard at the end of this yellow brick road. There's only road work ahead.

While simply perusing the website I found this gem. I can see why there are so many positive reviews for this book because it was done exceptionally well if you’re into this genre. This book is simply a darker version of “The Hunger Games” if you ask me with a stronger female lead.

The similarities between this book and “The Hunger Games” are startling I must say. The narrator did justice to the title itself and coupled with the story had you gripping the edge. There are some parts of this book that literally gets your mouth to drop and your eyes to widen. Also, when the action picks up, the action really picks up and the author creates such interesting imageries that left me quite impressed. This is just a fun listen if you ask me, with the right combination of poignant moments and fun, light moments.

If you enjoyed "The Hunger Games" or books within that genre you will simply love this book... if you didn't enjoy "The Hunger Games" though, I suggest you pass on this on.

OF NOTE: I listened to this book just AFTER I listened to “Einstein’s Relativity” (which I thought was just plain painful to listen to) so my review might be a bit skewered (positively) because the thought of that other book is fresh in my mind….

STORY BRIEF:Dystopian society set in Chicago, Illinois, in the future. Most roads have holes and need repair. Very few have cars. Most travel by bus. The Dauntless are the only ones who travel by train because they are willing to jump on and off while it’s moving. Society is divided into five groups. At age 16 every teen must choose a group to join. If they choose a different group from their parents, they will no longer live with their parents and rarely see them. The groups are personality types. Erudite are brainy. They research and teach. Dauntless are brave and learn to fight and shoot. Abnegation are self sacrificing and work in government. Tris’ parents are Abnegation. She chose Dauntless. Most of this book is her experience at Dauntless. The new recruits sleep in one large room with many beds. She must compete against other recruits in contests. At the end of training the weakest performers will be kicked out of Dauntless.

Four and Eric oversee the training for recruits. Eric is a sadist. He enjoys putting recruits in danger where they could die. He requires Tris to fight a big boy who beats her bad. Some recruits try to kill each other to eliminate the competition. The leaders don’t seem to care about recruits getting killed and don’t investigate. The recruits can’t look to anyone for help.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:I loved Hunger Games and was hoping this would be as much fun. But it wasn’t. It was ok, but I was not excited to keep reading. Four times a drug is given to Tris causing her to experience frightening dreams about fears. Dreams can be ok, but in this book I saw them as a weakness. The dreams were “the easy way” to provide conflict. The author doesn’t have to develop characters, motivations, actions, and solutions surrounding the dream conflicts. Just have a dream, wake up, and it’s over. Weird things don’t need to be explained.

CAUTION SPOILER: Outside of the dreams, twice some bad guys outnumber Tris and try to hurt her. She survives when someone else saves her, which wasn’t as good as saving herself. END SPOILER.

The result of the bad guys and the dreams give a helpless victim feel to Tris, rather than a character taking action. Her main skill was her brain’s ability during a dream. The heroine in Hunger Games was placed in bad situations and used her skills, smarts, and other character traits to out think, survive, and win. Tris wasn’t doing that, although in fairness, twice she came up with a good idea. The book ends with a success for Tris, but bad things have begun and will be continued in the sequel.

The major crisis at the end was too contrived for me. The bad guy in charge wanted to kill two good guys and should have shot them. Instead the bad guy put them in situations where they could be rescued. Also what happened with the computer was too convenient for me.

Overall, the characters were predictable and formulaic which can be ok. You can have a good story with stereotypes. But it might have been good to see more development around the bad guys and their motivations. There is the beginning of a teen romance, to be continued in the sequel. There is unsettling sadism and cruelty.

NARRATOR:The narrator Emma Galvin was excellent. She has a pleasing voice and style of speaking. I would enjoy hearing her do other books.

There are over 50 teen and young adult novels in my Audible library as I share my second childhood with my grandchildren's first. I listen to what they read. I'll be 73 years old in a few weeks, but I really like the YA genre. In the case of Divergent, my 11 year old granddaughter is reading it. Somehow such books as Divergent and Hunger Games seem too old for her, but her parents make that decision.

Post-apocalyptic teen/YA novels like Divergent and Hunger Games are not very different from adult post-apocalyptic novels in that human society is struggling to recover and that recovery is highly dependent upon the actions of a few brave individuals who choose or are chosen to lead. Like Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy, Tris in the Divergence trilogy is a teen girl of unusual determination,fortitude and bravery who is selected by circumstances to lead. Tris is a divergent who does not neatly fit into any of the five factions; indeed, she has characteristics of all five factions, as do we all. She is a person, an individual, who refuses to be recognized as anything or anyone other than herself. Tris lives in a dystopian time and place. She is not so much trying to turn the dystopia into utopia as attempting to change the situation into something that she can live in good conscience with.

The narration of this novel is superb.

I recommend Divergent to all who enjoy post-apocalyptic novels or who enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy.

Young Adult books nowadays usually leave me with a longing for more Harry Potter :). Suprisingly this one didn't. I really enjoyed it, and I will wait for the second one with eager antecipation. It's good to know that there are new writters with potential out there! It's light enough for your readers, the story is well thought, and the characters, specially the main ones, are likeable and believable. If you're looking for some light fiction, this might be it.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Miss Victoria Hicks

Bristol, UK

4/7/13

Overall

"One of my favourite dystopian works."

I love Divergent and have it in paperback, kindle e-book & Audible audiobook.

The writing is well developed and the story gripping. The characters are very easy to identify with and you find yourself wanting to learn more about them.

I know i am stating the obvious here but this is a Young Adult/Teen genre. It is light enough for the younger teens but deals with some very important social issues such as bullying, domestic violence,

As many people have said there are similarities to The Hunger Games, such as segmented society within a city, but they are their own stories.

Being the first part of a trilogy, this book sets the scene in this dystopian world and establishes the characters, political issues and power struggles from the outset.

The reader/listener is kept guessing throughout the story with just enough revealed to fill in the gaps and solidify the story by the end, but leaves enough questions to keep you guessing and wanting more.

This book is very well narrated by Emma Galvin, i think she would be suited to many other YA stories and if she had narrated the twilight audiobooks i would have bought them too.

Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nadina Vasileva

12/18/12

Overall

"Potential that was never fulfulled"

This book had such wonderful reviews that I dared hope for a brilliant new series. Not a chance! The characters remained flat and unconvincing. The challenges they faced were not real but in simulations and dreams and these unreal experiences fell flat and sounded fake. I don't understand why the Dauntless faction was considered the brave, if all they ever did to prove their bravery is jump on trains, get tattoos and go through simulations and imaginary challenges.

All in all, even though the book had a couple of promising ideas, overall it sounded hollow and extremely disappointing. I will not be bothering with the second book of the series, despite the fact that many questions remained unanswered.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ann-Marie

Gavle, Sweden

2/28/12

Overall

"Ends with the beginning"

Well, I must start by telling you that I'm probably one of the few who has NOT yet read the Hunger Games trilogy (I'm working on it...) Even so, I understand that there is quite a few similarities. A young girl trying to figure out Who she is. In doing so, finding hidden strengths (both physical and mental) within her which is good since she needs all of them in the initiation process she's going thru.

I listened to the novel vary well narrated by Emma Galvin and I listened as soon as I had a chance (in the car, walking the dog, cleaning the kitchen).

It is well written, the characters are plausible and easy to like (or hate). The main character Beatrice, later Tris, is someone you want to get to know and learn more about.

But, to me it seems that this, the first in a series of three, is very much an introduction to the rest. I don't know if I'm right, but there is something missing. There is a lot of questions you don't get answers to.

Why has the society changed into this very rigid form? What has happened to the world?

For me this lack of background made it difficult to understand and accept Tris'and the other initiates change and behaviour.

Non the less it's a good read. Love, hate, good, evil, morality.

I do hope to find some answers in the next book. I would have given it one more star if I've gotten some more answers from the start.

The story ends with the beginning...

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Craig

2/13/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great listen"

Enjoyed listening to this daily. The narrator portrayed the characters and the told the story. I'm looking forward to insergant

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

V. Clouston

Orkney, UK

12/10/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent listen"

What did you like most about Divergent?

Divergent is an original, clever story. Great characters and performed brilliantly by Emma Galvin.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favourite character is Four. An intriguing individual with a great backstory.

What about Emma Galvin’s performance did you like?

Emma Galvin does a great job reading this. She gives a very believable performance and is very easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Tris learns more about her mother's past and the dramatic climax ( no spoilers!).

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Suzanne

Wirral, United Kingdom

12/2/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Stand aside here comes the DIVERGENT"

Where does Divergent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to better but listened to much much worse ... the fact taht the narrator is in a constant state of fear allertness terror means that you do not get a rest from this frantic drama. But She does a good job of making your heat thud.

What other book might you compare Divergent to, and why?

The Hunger games is the same type of book and this is a compliment. Tris is not the same she is harder and less confident than Catness however the story is edgier in my opinion.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Tris was saved from the other transfers by 4.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

D. M. E. Davies

London, England

10/23/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Quite an enjoyable listen"

I was looking forward to reading this, the initial blurb seemed good, but at the end I felt a little disappointed. There are lots of unanswered questions, but I know there are two sequels to come which I assume will tie up these questions. However, the lack of any information about the history of Chicago, and how this society came to be this way, means that questions are continually popping into my head - for example, who are Dauntless protecting their society against?

Overall a good story, and reasonably well performed - Emma Galvin has a pleasing voice, though at times it was difficult to distinguish which of the characters were speaking initially. The characters were whole and rounded, Tris was brave and curious, Four moody and deep, and all the requisite baddies were in force.

What is a little disappointing though is for the continual presence of strong similarities between this and books such as The Hunger Games and The Host. Maybe most stories set in a dystopian future will have similar themes, that echo over and over again, but I would have appreciated some original twists to distinguish one from another.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Dorothy

Poole, United Kingdom

9/23/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"A great new writer to the fantasy pantheon"

I welcome her to the list of fantasy and science fiction writer that I really like. Robin Hobb, Orson Scott Card, George R.R. Martin and Diana Wynne Jones to name a few. The story is told in first person and we are given the perception of the protaganist to the strange surreal environment she finds herself in. We are all brought up in the belief systems of our families and Tris is no exception to this. The five faction construct is obviously just that, a strange construct. I was worried that this would be another Hunger Games pseudo reality story, but I was very pleased it did not turn out like this. The world is very like a computer game with real players and not avatars. I look forward to Veronica Roth honing her craft and producing more wonderful stories in the future.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

David L. Davies

Cheshire UK

7/30/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent story, but average performance"

What did you like most about Divergent?

The story is imaginative and enthralling. A bit too much Mills and Boon at times but overall very good. Performance is not the best, difficult to distinguish between the different characters.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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